Favourite YouTube Channels

Tested  Our favourite channel for the latest in making, technology and popular culture. We watch new episodes featuring Adam Savage, of Mythbusters fame, plus co-founder Norm Chan and the rest of the Tested team almost daily.

Vsauce Created and hosted by Michael Stevens, we've become big fans of this superb and often hilarious Youtube channel.

Veritasium  Created and hosted by Dr. Derek Muller, a fellow Canadian! We love this channel for its deeply thoughtful yet very accessible approach to science.

SmarterEveryDay Destin, a Mechanical Engineer, is super clear, natural, and intuitive with his explanations. The kind of guy who could explain anything to anyone, given enough time. Very well edited, engaging, addictive in many ways. There are some fascinating scenes about Solar Eclipses in this video:

The Royal Institution A source of much inspiration for us. This video inspired our double-slit STEM Box: Double Slit Experiment explained! by Jim Al-Khalili - YouTube.

NASA's Ames Research Center The name says it all. Check out this gorgeous simulation of our Moon's formation:

FloatHeadPhysics This channel provides the simplest and clearest explanation of time dilation the author has seen, at time of writing. Here's the video that has prompted this entry:

OpenAI The now world-famous group's YouTube channel. Check out the Sora demo (if you haven't already):

Figure Figure describes itself as "...an AI Robotics company building the world's first commercially viable autonomous humanoid robot". This was from the YouTube algorithm and it's remarkable how soon the robot take-over may be:

NASA Goddard Goddard Space Flight Center is located in Maryland, USA. The author found the below video clear and highly informative:

Corridor Crew CGI experts sharing plenty of 'how the sausage is made' insights, and some hilarious modifications to blockbuster movies eg. We Made Marvel R-Rated - YouTube, and We Made James Bond R-Rated - YouTube.

3Blue1Brown  by Grant Sanderson... a very calm and patient voice explaining math in a way that the author finds very humbling.

The Slow Mo Guys An outstanding channel, hosted by Gav and Dan, who used a camera at 1,750,000 FPS to look at lightning in super slo-mo: Electrical Arcs at 1,750,000FPS - The Slow Mo Guys with ElectroBOOM - YouTube They regularly use top-of-the-line Phantom high-speed cameras to examine explosions, bullet impacts and other fast-moving phenomena with gorgeous footage and editing.

ColinFurze an awesome and very entertaining maker. We think he's brilliant and perhaps could be thought of as England's Adam Savage.

LinusTechTips Our go-to channel for computer knowledge-sharing and advice, especially PC/Windows-related topics. If you're in the market for a high-end gaming PC, in particular if you care about the AMD Ryzen 7950X3D, don't miss:

The Science Asylum "Crazy deep dives into simple questions". Hosted by Nick Lucid. This one posted on April 1, 2023, is hilarious (if you are familiar with Matt O'Dowd of PBS, Matt Parker of Stand-Up Maths, Michael Stevens of Vsauce, + others) :

Practical Engineering - we find Grady's explanations very clear and engaging about a whole range of interesting topics, mostly civil engineering topics.

Bobby Fingers One of Adam Savage's favourite channels. Here's the hilarious video that prompted this post:

Stand-up Maths Hosted by Matt Parker, an author, comedian, and YouTube personality who can make math's "quirks" surprisingly entertaining.

The Action Lab we love how clearly some very difficult topics are explained.

Marques Brownlee Our go-to source for thoughts on the latest tech, especially from Apple and Tesla.

Steve Mould we love his delightful British accent and calming voice.

Project Farm Ever wonder which brand of super glue is truly the best? Like if you made a science fair project out of it? Well, if you'd like to find out the answer on just about everything you can imagine, check out these guys.

Nile Red A fellow Canadian with a huge following and a vast collection of excellent videos of about chemistry. Here's one from his companion channel, Nile Blue :

Jared Owen A deep catalog of awesome 3D animations of how familiar things (eg., escalator, clicky pen, etc.) actually work on the inside. Don't miss:

Cleo Abram The host describes herself as a non-physicist, but the author was pleasantly surprised with the amount of easy-to-understand substance in the following video:

Liam Thompson Self described as "I do stupid stuff on camera" and very well edited and entertaining (we think). Don't miss his "I used 1980s technology for a week" video (below) :D

Breaking Taps Explores material science and machining. Wanna see what cutting metal looks like up close? Check out this amazing use of a scanning electron microscope:

Real Engineering - Tons of excellent videos. Be sure to check out "The Insane Engineering of the Perseverance Rover", the fascinating and very promising A New Way to Achieve Nuclear Fusion: Helion - YouTube, plus this one from Sep'23:

ElectroBOOM Very entertaining, lots of interesting and rather dangerous electrical experiments. We very much enjoyed:

Tom Scott - YouTube A British YouTuber and web developer. Includes some history and linguistics. Don't miss:

Mark Rober We've been fans since the days of Fat Gus (who hasn't? :D). Here's a recent one (Mar'24) that clearly explains why a Helium balloon in your car moves backwards (while everything else flies forwards) when you hit the brakes:

Fermilab Consistently excellent explanations of some really difficult topics. We really enjoyed this one: How fast is gravity?

To Scale: An awesome channel that uses physical models / distances to help us understand the scale of things. Don't miss:

Alpha Phoenix We discovered this channel via their response to Veritasium's light bulb thought experiment (if you haven't seen the Veritasium video yet, or the fascinating videos posted in response, be sure to check them out, starting with the Veritasium one).

 

RED SIDE An excellent series of videos that help understand scale. We enjoyed: SPEED COMPARISON 3D | Fastest Man Made Objects.

Strange Parts a huge library of fascinating factory-tour videos about how things are made in China. Anyone who's had the luxury of visiting Tokyo (or other parts of Japan) will appreciate this one:

Nate from the Internet - A new channel hosted by Nate, formerly with TKOR (below). Be sure to check out his awesome series of cheap vs. expensive ingredients for various recipes (chocolate chip cookies, etc.).

UpandAtom  supported by Vsauce, this channel explores some really deep topics in a surprisingly accessible way.

All Things Physics At time of writing (Summer '23), this channel has been around for ~1 year and has 7 videos. The algo was rather insistent on the below recent video, and we were pleasantly surprised how engaging and satisfying the video was:

Testing AI An excellent channel for AI. Don't miss:

The Space Race A YouTube algorithm find. We found the below video surprisingly good:

The King of Random (TKOR) - an excellent YouTube channel founded by the late, great Grant Thompson, with a deep library of awesome experiments and explorations of what is possible for really anyone.

World Science Festival We discovered this one via Morning Brew. The author got goose bumps @ end of this short one: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale - YouTube

A Concord Carpenter we love how this channel uses a scientific approach to find the best tools for making.

Cosmos Club - a Canadian Youtube channel with some excellent science demonstrations (including a few products that we carry).

Tibees - We love Tibees calming voice with a lovely New Zealand accent :)  We hope you enjoy and learn from her YouTube videos as much as we have.

Mathologer - some really superb explanations about math topics that can be a huge help in understanding math (eg., he points out how we make conscious choices in our mathematics - such as when we convert infinite converging series into exact values with calculus).

Michael Reeves - super high-quality videos of crazy inventions, many of them hilarious. Be sure to check out "Building a Laser Baby", and "I Built A Surgery Robot". 

Science Online - Check out their video describing how anyone can directly measure the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere using materials in your home (!)  We plan to watch all of their videos.

Gamers Nexus Plenty of in-depth reviews of high-performance gaming components. We found their view about controlling static electricity helpful: Static Electricity Misconceptions: Fake vs. Real ESD Wrist Straps & Proper Grounding Deep-Dive - YouTube

Answers with Joe.  Some great explanations on all sorts of topical science items.

 

theengineerguy. Incredibly clear and interesting explanations of clever mechanisms in everyday items.  We love their open-source approach to developing and sharing content.  Be sure to check out: Coffee Maker: Pumping water with no moving parts; and DLP Projector Stereolithography 3D Printer.

Nighthawkinlight. Be sure to check out his "How to Make a BATSIGNAL (For Real)!" video!

Got2Learn Despite the broad name, this channel is devoted to amazingly clear and concise explanations of a surprisingly complicated subject: plumbing. Be sure to check out the video regarding "water hammer".

Home RenoVision DIY An incredibly enjoyable, engaging and rich with useful information for DIYers, homeowners, contractors, tradespeople, tenants/renters with responsibility for minor repairs, you name it. Rob is now addicted to this channel, likely permanently. You can check out their website as well, with links to some great deals on world-class products available in Canada.

74 Gear Created and hosted by Kelsey, a 747 pilot, this channel explores all sorts of stories about airline incidents, including a series of videos about Hollywood myths around aviation.

my Mechanics A highly addictive series of stories about restoring impossibly old and corroded objects that are transformed (like the car in Stephen King's "Christine" almost?) to as good as new, if not better than. Be sure to check out this remarkable demonstration of skill:

Building Integrity In the wake of the tragedy that occurred in Surfside, Florida, on June 24, 2021, we found this channel to be head-and-shoulders better than any other source of information about the potential causes of the condo building collapse. We highly recommend the entire series; it's simply superb.

Kostack Studio The YouTube algorithm brought us this marvelous channel providing meticulously crafted 3D physics animations. With viewer discretion, be sure to check out their modelling of the physics of Champlain Towers South building collapse, the terrible tragedy that occurred in Surfside, Florida, in 2021.

Jeremy Fielding Jeremy can explain anything to anyone and will be the last one standing after the Zombie apocalypse; he can make anything from repurposed materials. Be sure to check out his collaboration with Destin from SmarterEveryDay, building an insane home-run hitting machine here.

Mystery Scoop Another YouTube algorithm gem, this channel uses deep AI to re-animate historic people with a life-like appearance. It's quite startling in fact how alive these people seem. Be sure to check out the one of Nikola Tesla (at the end), and this one regarding the Mona Lisa:

Phil Edwards A witty and thoughtful "personal and history" channel we discovered late Jan-22. Don't miss: What really happened when Bill Gates jumped the chair!

 

Pontypants. We just learned of this channel via shout-out from the Phil Edwards channel (above). Pontypant's top video (at time of writing) is First 6 Months Learning Unreal Engine (No Programming Experience). We love his intro to that video: "6 months ago I decided to learn Unreal Engine from scratch and make my first game. Here's what happened."

NYCCNC. A super resource for how-to CNC machining, working with Fusion 360 CAD + CAM, and manufacturing entrepreneurship. Approved by ThisOldTony.

Lesics "The Physics behind Engineering". Be sure to check out Hoover Dam | All the Secrets of the Engineering Wonder.

That Chemist An excellent channel with some great graphics and "ranking summaries" of plenty of major industrial and research chemicals.

StuffMadeHere Incredibly difficult and complicated projects that somehow succeed every time, against impossible odds. Be sure to check out: Moving hoop won't let you miss - YouTube.

Cody's Lab Kind of like your friendly neighbor genius doing crazy s#it out back, but also some videos you'd imagine winning awards at science fairs because of how well the issues are explained. Don't miss: Why beekeepers usually don’t plant flowers next to the hive - YouTube

Life in the 1800s Despite the channel name, the algorithm presented the author with the video below. The interviewee provides a first-hand account of the Wright Brothers efforts. The author found his account remarkably clear, easy-to-understand and insightful:

Bear Grylls Of National Geographic fame. Here's the video that prompted this entry:

Financial Modeling World Cup Who knew that Excel modelling could become a sport?

DIY Machines An excellent series of electronics how-to videos. You know those little black connectors inside computers?

Here's a 5-minute video that explains exactly how they work and how to make your own: Dupont Connectors - Quickly and easily make your own - YouTube

Tech Ingredients A channel that explores some fascinating experiments (sort of 'Mythbusters' style). You are almost guaranteed to learn something from every video.

____

And here are some favourite videos that inspired us early on. For anyone out there who loves a good campfire, be sure to check out the first one with Dr. Szydlo:

The Magic of Chemistry - with Andrew Szydlo

Chemical Curiosities: Surprising Science and Dramatic Demonstrations

10 Amazing Science Experiments! Compilation